September + October 2019 ADIRONDACK LIFE 29
cabinets, flooring, trim and just about
everything else you can fashion from
something that began life as a tree.
If prized cuisine nowadays is farm
to fork, Windy’s woodworking is forest
to furniture. Projects start with raw
wood, not a trip to the lumberyard. “I
get logs from guys clearing building lots.
Contractors bring them over on dump
trucks,” he says. These are piled near his
mill and loaded on the bandsaw carriage
with a skid steer. Windy guides the saw
the length of the log, walking alongside
to ensure that the blade doesn’t bind.
Lumber is stacked, stickered and dried
outside for 30 days. Planing and sanding
come next, so readying materials takes
about five weeks. This spring he made
picnic tables for a North River rafting
company and has orders for several
giant chairs.
Chances are you’ve seen Windy’s
signature seat. There’s one at the ice-
cream stand in Tupper Lake, at the
convenience store on Route 30 in Indi-
an Lake, on Route 28 near the OK Slip
trailhead and at the Brant Lake garden
market. The best known—and most
photographed—is at the entrance to the
Adirondack Experience, in Blue Moun-
tain Lake. These Adirondack chairs are
so huge — eig ht feet tall— t hey have to be
assembled outside.
The design, Windy explains, was
inspired by chairs at Great Camps Uncas
and Pine Knot. “They’re the same chair
no matter what size, with the same
angles, same back configuration, same
number of boards whether for a toddler
or a whole family” squeezing together in
Chances are you’ve seen
Windy’s signature seat.
There’s one at the ice-
cream stand in Tupper
Lake, at the convenience
store on Route 30 in Indian
Lake, on Route 28 near the
OK Slip trailhead and at the
Brant Lake garden market.A modern twist on the
Adirondack wedding